H.F. 2331 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256.232 Attorney loan repayment 1 program —— fund. 2 1. Program established. The college student aid commission 3 shall establish an attorney loan repayment program to encourage 4 attorneys to remain and practice law in this state. 5 2. Eligibility. An individual is eligible to apply to 6 enter into a program agreement with the college student aid 7 commission pursuant to subsection 3 if the individual meets all 8 of the following requirements: 9 a. Is a graduate of the college of law at the state 10 university of Iowa. 11 b. Is licensed to practice law in Iowa. 12 c. Is practicing law in Iowa at the time of application or 13 commits to begin practicing law in this state upon execution 14 of a program agreement. 15 3. Program agreements. An agreement shall be entered into 16 by an eligible attorney and the college student aid commission. 17 Under the agreement, to receive loan repayments pursuant to 18 subsection 5, an eligible attorney shall agree to and fulfill 19 all of the following requirements: 20 a. Remain and practice law in Iowa during each year for 21 which loan repayment assistance is received. 22 b. Provide not less than fifty hours per year of legal 23 services as an indigent defense attorney. 24 4. Priority. In awarding loan repayment assistance under 25 this section, the commission shall give priority to attorneys 26 who practice law in rural areas of the state. For purposes 27 of this section, “rural area” means a county or municipality 28 that has a population of less than twenty-six thousand and is 29 located more than twenty miles from a city with a population 30 of at least fifty thousand, based on the most recent federal 31 decennial census. 32 5. Loan repayment assistance. An eligible attorney 33 who enters into and remains in compliance with a program 34 agreement pursuant to subsection 3 shall receive loan repayment 35 -1- LSB 5083HV (2) 91 mb/jh 1/ 4

H.F. 2331 assistance in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars per 1 year or the outstanding balance of the attorney’s eligible 2 loans, whichever is less. Loan repayment assistance may be 3 provided for each year of eligible practice during a period 4 of not more than six consecutive years. The total amount of 5 loan repayment assistance an attorney may receive under the 6 program shall not exceed the total outstanding balance of the 7 attorney’s eligible student loans at the time the program 8 agreement is executed. For purposes of this section, “eligible 9 loan” means the attorney’s total federally guaranteed Stafford 10 loan amount under the federal family education loan program 11 or the federal direct loan program, the attorney’s federal 12 graduate plus loans, or the attorney’s federal Perkins loan, 13 including principal and interest. 14 6. Fund established. An attorney loan repayment program 15 fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the 16 college student aid commission. The commission may accept 17 gifts, grants, bequests, and other private contributions, as 18 well as state or federal moneys, for deposit in the fund. All 19 moneys deposited in the fund are appropriated to the commission 20 to be used for purposes of this section. Notwithstanding 21 section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or 22 unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert 23 but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes 24 designated. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, 25 interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited 26 to the fund. 27 7. Rules. The college student aid commission shall adopt 28 rules to administer this section. 29 8. Limitation. The program shall not provide assistance for 30 more than one hundred ten attorneys in a single year. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill establishes an attorney loan repayment program 35 -2- LSB 5083HV (2) 91 mb/jh 2/ 4

H.F. 2331 to encourage attorneys to remain and practice law in Iowa. 1 The program is to be administered by the college student aid 2 commission. 3 The bill provides that an individual is eligible to apply for 4 the program if the individual is a graduate of the college of 5 law at the state university of Iowa, is licensed to practice 6 law in Iowa, and is practicing law in Iowa at the time of 7 application or commits to begin practicing law in the state 8 upon execution of a program agreement. 9 The bill requires a program agreement to be entered into by 10 the commission and an eligible attorney. Under the agreement, 11 an attorney must agree to remain and practice law in Iowa 12 during each year for which loan repayment assistance is 13 received and must provide not less than 50 hours per year of 14 legal services as an indigent defense attorney. 15 The bill requires the commission to give priority in 16 awarding loan repayment assistance to attorneys who practice 17 law in rural areas of the state. The bill defines “rural area” 18 as a county or municipality that has a population of less than 19 26,000 and is located more than 20 miles from a city with a 20 population of at least 50,000, based on the most recent federal 21 decennial census. 22 The bill provides that an eligible attorney who enters into 23 and remains in compliance with a program agreement may receive 24 loan repayment assistance in an amount not to exceed $10,000 25 per year or the outstanding balance of the attorney’s eligible 26 student loans, whichever is less. Loan repayment assistance 27 may be provided for not more than six consecutive years, and 28 the total amount of assistance may not exceed the outstanding 29 balance of the attorney’s eligible student loans at the time 30 the agreement is executed. The bill defines “eligible loan” 31 as the attorney’s total federally guaranteed Stafford loan 32 amount under the federal family education loan program or the 33 federal direct loan program, the attorney’s federal graduate 34 plus loans, or the attorney’s federal Perkins loan, including 35 -3- LSB 5083HV (2) 91 mb/jh 3/ 4

H.F. 2331 principal and interest. 1 The bill creates an attorney loan repayment program fund 2 in the state treasury under the control of the commission. 3 The fund consists of gifts, grants, bequests, private 4 contributions, and state or federal moneys. Moneys in the fund 5 are appropriated to the commission for purposes of the program, 6 do not revert at the end of a fiscal year, and retain interest 7 earnings. 8 The bill requires the commission to adopt rules to 9 administer the program and limits participation to not more 10 than 110 attorneys in a single year. 11 -4- LSB 5083HV (2) 91 mb/jh 4/ 4